Search

AUSTRALIAN FARMERS HIGHLIGHT GE DANGERS

"GE isn't a solution, it's just another problem for farmers, and a big one," -Bob Mackley, Duchembegarra, Western Victoria, Australia

Two Australian farmers visited the Whangarei Saturday Market on the weekend and gave a presentation at the Old Library on Rust Avenue. They shared their first-hand experience of genetically engineered crops in their communities with 50+ ratepayers in attendance, including local farmers.

Seed farmers Bob Mackley, of Victoria, and Julie Newman, of Western Australia, are both strongly against genetically engineered food crops, observing from personal experience how they can damage a farm’s reputation, negatively impact on finite resources like soils and the farmers access to key markets and premiums. GE crops also serve to divide rural communities, due to the nature of transgenic pollution that does not respect property boundaries.

Mr. Mackley and Ms. Newman said genetic engineering of crops effectively passed control of a country’s seed supply to the government or foreign multinationals, rather than being in the hands of farmers. The pair discussed issues of liability, the impossibility of co-existence between GE and non-GE farmers and the contamination problems already occurring in Victoria and Western Australia.

"These conventional farmers from Australia gave us a strong message- saying local primary producers need to continue to work with our local councils to protect our existing valuable GM free status", GE Free Northland spokesperson Martin Robinson said today.

Marlborough-based Green Party list-MP Steffan Browning brought the Australians to Whangarei as part of an 11-day tour of New Zealand. He wanted Kiwis from Dunedin to Northland to learn about documented adverse impacts of GE crops.

Ms Newman said there continued to be massive consumer rejection of GE produce. Ten years in the marketing industry taught Mr Mackley that any business that didn’t listen to its customers deserved to fail, he said.

Ms Newman said it was up to non-GE farmers to keep genetically engineered crops out of the supply chain. ”Farmers and consumers must maintain that choice of non-GE produce,” she said. “Governments and multinationals should not be trying to remove that choice.” Health issues, such as infertility and organ damage, were associated with the consumption of food derived from GE crops, as reputable independent scientific studies overseas have shown.

Mr Mackley said farmers with non-GE crops had access to all markets and had an opportunity to maximise their profits .

”There are markets that do not accept GE food while others accept it, but only at a lower price.” Martin Robinson said there was increasing pressure to begin growing GE crops in New Zealand and that farmers needed to hear the warnings of the Australian pair about what had already occurred in Australian states that lifted the moratorium on GE crops. Tasmania and South Australia still enjoy the benefits of their designation as official GM Free food producing regions.

With the pressure on to release the first GE crops in New Zealand, it’s time to examine what impact they could have on our clean, green economy and marketing advantage,” Martin Robinson said. What can we learn from the experience of our Australian neighbors about how the introduction of GE crops will affect our agricultural industry and New Zealand’s economy?”

Ms Newman said New Zealand should be learning from the world’s mistakes, not following them.

"We need to learn from their mistakes and carry out an independent economic impact assessment into releasing GE, one that covers both the potential impact for individual farmers and for all sectors of the New Zealand economy.

"Just to give one example, the European Union won't accept any honey with GE traces. Releasing GE into New Zealand will close that $48 million a year market.

"Releasing GE crops would be a one way street, putting at risk our brand, our reputation, and our world export markets, to grow food for which there are no consumer benefits, and no market.

"Co-existence is a myth. GE crops, if released, will contaminate the crops of farmers who don't choose GE crops and will open them up to huge liability risks.

"We are facing increased pressure to start releasing GE crops in New Zealand but all of the international experience is proving that the promised benefits of GE were overstated and the risks are real.

"Recently the Hastings District Council calculated the importance that staying GE free has on their economic development and unanimously voted to declare their region GE free. Hawke's Bay councils are also keen to emulate the hard work already down by Whangarei District Council and the other member councils of the "Inter Council Working Party on GMO Risk Evaluation & Management Options."

The NZ Government needs to start prioritizing our biosecurity, primary producers, and the environment- to date central goverment regulatory agencies and NZ Crown Research Institutes have failed miserably to protect our interests.

"GE crops negatively impact on nearly everyone, bad for the consumers, bad for farmers, bad for the community and the only ones benefiting are the multinational companies who have proprietary rights over certain seed strains."

GE FREE Northland applauds the commitment of local government to address the critical GE issue, as the National - led government continues to ignore the concerns of many eminent scientists, local authorities and our key markets, as well as the majority of New Zealanders.

It is critical that the interests of local government and ratepayers are protected and the risks of GE addressed.

GE FREE NORTHLAND encourages local government to act on the concerns of local ratepayers and work to ensure the regions economy and environment is protected by making appropriate changes to the District Plan and the Northland Regional Policy Statement (giving effect to the precautionary and prohibitive policies already in place in Long Term Council Community Plans).

A shared approach to some type of local regulation of GMO land use is being taken by local authorities from south Auckland to Cape Reinga. A collaborative section 32 analysis on GMOs is about to be undertaken by Whangarei District Council, Far North District Council, Kaipara District Council and Auckland Council "super city".

Northland is ideally placed geographically to achieve this distinction, which would minimize the economic, environmental, public health and liability exposures from GE release and experiments, with Auckland region providing an additional buffer zone.

Physicians & Scientists for Global Responsibility (NZ) supports the reinstating of the moratorium on all GE experiments and releases, due to the inherent risks of GMOs to our biosecurity, unique biodiversity, primary producers, economy and the public health.

Tasmania and South Australia are both official GM Free food producing regions. Tasmania has prohibited the commercial production of GM crops for some years now, and has a branding programme to position the state as the home of gourmet foods. As it states, “global negatives” (such as GM foods) can be turned to the state’s advantage. They’ve got a great story…

Hormonal growth promotants and antibiotics are banned in cattle Tasmania is free from many of the major pests and diseases – such as mad cow disease, foot and mouth disease, rabies and rinderpest. Tasmania is the only state in Australia free from fruit fly, potato cyst nematode and tobacco blue mould Chemical usage is low due to the absence of major pests and diseases. Tasmania has some of the world’s most stringent quarantine policies.